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Hi everyone. I joined this forum a few weeks ago to keep up on information and find some new ideas. But now I need specific advice. I'm building a neck-through and I'm not sure if I need to carve down the portion of the neck after where the truss rod/fretboard end. I built another neck-through a few months ago and I used a router with a jig to make that portion a little thinner than the playable area of the neck. Is it necessary to take this step, or could I do without it? I'm already on the thin side of things and I'd rather not make the body much thinner if I could avoid it.

On another note, I'm considering making this a semi-hollow. Any thoughts on the positives/negatives of a neck-through that's semi-hollow? And what would you recommend using to make the f-holes? I've never made a semi-hollow, so I'm not sure what to use. I think a dremel would be too weak. The top is about 7/16ths thick as it stands right now. Is that too thick for a semi-hollow?

Lots of questions, I realize. I'm new to luthiery so every step comes with a lot of questions and things to consider. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hi Gabby and welcome to the forum. I am a newbie myself so take this with a grain of salt. If I understand what you are asking, it depends on the bridge. If you have a zero neck angle, you may need to effectively lower the bridge to achieve a playable action. You can also angle your neck. Some of the other guys can can help more but start looking at your string height at the bridge.

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Chris

Yes, either trim down the neck, or like I did on my bass, lower the bridge a little, by routing out the body under the bridge. It really worked out well on that bass, but next ones I will trim it down beyond the fretboard.
I haven't built a semi hollow axe yet, but I plan to build an acoustic bass with a neck thru. I will route down the neck in the body area. Not sure how much yet. But it will be something to play around with.
7/16" is probably too thick for a top. I'd go with the thickness of an acoustic top. As far as F holes, I'll let someone else chime in on that.

I'm not sure I understand the question; carve down which part of the neck? You mean the bit that's technically the body? What for?

Whether or not it's necessary depends on your instrument's geometry; thickness of fingerboard, chosen fret size, chosen bridge, and the need for an angle or not. Your full sized side view plan should answer any questions you have in this regard.

Semi-hollows tend to sound a little more 'acoustic' (more resonant, more complex, less fundamental, more harmonics) than an equivalent solidbody. F holes are optional, and increase the likelihood of feedback by a little bit. For electrics, standard thickness on chambered bodies is about 1/4" (I go for 5mm to 6mm, both a little under 1/4"), since the wood's not braced like on an acoustic, and people aren't as careful with electrics overall. Thinner shouldn't be a problem, but will also increase the odds of feedback (moves more).

Dremels are only just OK for inlay work (and not even great at that), and this kind of thing should be done with a router or laminate trimmer.